Printing-roller.



No. 796,212. PATENTBDQAIUG. 1, 1905.

v F HORSBLL v PRINTING ROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED BZP'I'. 10. 1904 I m g UNITED STATES- PATENT, OFFICE.

FRANK HORSELL, OF LEEDS, ENGLAND. PRINTING-QROLLER.

To all whom, it may concern- Be it known that I, FRANK HORSELL, residingat Leeds, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Printing-Rollers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same. 4

This invention relates especially to the inking, damping, and likerollers employed in lithographic and other printing machines andhand-printing processes. These rollers are covered with a suitablefabric or materialsuch as felt, cotton, or flannel, and in some caseswlth leather, composition, or rubber in addition-and it has hithertobeen necessary ing, or stretching of the covering, and this I.

propose to effect by making the roller capable of expansion-that is tosay, in such a manner that its circumference can be increased wherebythe sagging can be followed up as required, and the coveringconsequently always maintained in a tightly fitting condition upon theroller.

In carrying out my improvement-s I may divide the roller longitudinallyinto a suitable number of parts or segments and cut in theinternal wallthereof a number of cone-shaped or inclined recesses into which fit acorresponding number of cones, steps, projections, or wedges,constituting or being provided in connection with the stock or spindleof such roller. By this means if the stock or the segments be traversedlongitudinally, or it might be rotated for part of a revolution, theroller will be caused to expand, as above explained. In the accompanyingdrawings I have illustrated, by way of example, two alternative modes ofcarrying my invention into practice. Referring first to Figures 1 and 2,which are respectively plan view (with a number of the segments removedfor the sake of clearness) and end elevation of one form of rollerconstructed according to my invention, letter (0 indicates the segmentsor longitudinal sections into which the roller is divided. In each ofthese segments or sections a is cut or formed Specification of LettersPatent.

Applicati n filed September 10, 1904:. Serial No. 224,022

Patented Aug. 1, 1905.

a number of cone-shaped or inclined surfaces or steps b. The stock orspindle of-the roller 0 is made in the form of a succession of truncatedcones d, which fit within the inclined recesses or steps 5, cut into thesegments a. The segments a are formed with wedge-shaped ends f and areheld in position on the stock or spindle c by caps or nuts 9 g andlock-nuts h. The caps g g are made to fit upon the cone: shaped ends fof the segments, which they grip and hold together. In order to expandthe roller, the cap g and its lock-nut h are unscrewed and the cap gtightened up with a suitable key. By this means'the segments a are movedin the direction of the arrows and the steps b therein caused to ride upthe cones OZ on the stock or spindle'c, whereby the circumference of theroller is increased. The cap 9 and lock-nuts it are then screwed up intoposition again. In order to prevent the segments a from bowing orbending upwardly from the stock or spindle in the center, as they wouldotherwise be liable to do. I provide the segments a with pins z',adapted to fit into slots or recesses in the cones d and hold thesegments closely to the stock or,.spindle.

which is a view of a portion of one of the segments (4 on a largerscale; but they may, if,

or spindle c is provided with a truncated cone d at either end and thesegments made with corresponding inclined surfaces 6 to fit upon them.The spindle has right and left handed screw-threads c 0 cut therein, andit will be obvious that by rotating the spindle the cones (i will bemade to approach the center of the spindle and each other and that thesegments will rise away from the spindle as before. The cones d areprevented from rotating with the spindle c by means of pins orprojections a, formed thereon, which fit into slots 6 in one of thesegments a, and thus admit of longitudinal movement of the cones."

When the roller has been expanded and the segments a moved somewhatapart from one another circu mferentially, the latter are liable to slipslightly out of position as the roller is revolving. To prevent this,small wedges may be inserted between the ends of the segments, so thatthe latter are kept always firmly fixed in position and the samedistance apart. If the caps g g are arranged to be pressed The'pins areclearly shown in Fig. 3,

forward by the nuts it on a plain portion of the stock or spindle 0, thewedges may be cast to the caps and will then fit into the spaces betweenthe segments as the roller is expanded.

The segments of the roller are preferably inclosed in one or more shellsor tubes j, made of pen-steel or other like elastic metal or materialhaving an open or, preferably, an overlapping edge or joint eitherspiral in form or otherwise, as shown in Fig. 2, whereby the outline ofthe covering, which is applied over the shell y', will be kept incircular form after the roller has been expanded.

Lithographic-printing rollers are provided with runners at either end,which travel upon bearers in the intervening spaces between the stoneand the inking and damping slabs. These runners are indicated in thedrawings by letter 1%, Fig. 1. When the roller has been expanded, it isnecessary also to increase the circumference of the runners, asotherwise the rollers would not work at a uniform speed. The runners aretherefore made in segments, which may be expanded conveniently whenrequired by means of a screwed cone 7c. The segments may be heldtogether by means of lapped springs or caps 76 When reduced to theirsmallest circumference, the rollers will of course allow of new coversbeing loosely drawn on, after which they can be tightened as required.

My invention has been described with particular reference to rollers forlithographic printing machines; but it is applicable also to rollersemployed in cotton-printing, bronzing, varnishing, wall-paper printing,and the like machines.

I claim as my invention 1. ln a roller, the combination, with anexpansible shell of resilient material, of a driving-spindle providedwith a series of cones, segmental portions for expanding the shellengaging with the said cones, means for causing the said cones to movethe said segmental portions radially of the spindle, and guidepinsengaging with the said segmental portions and spindle and preventing themiddle parts of the said segmental portions from being moved in excessof the end portions.

2. In a roller, the combination, with an expansible shell of resilientmaterial, of a driving-spindle, segmental portions secured between thesaid shell and spindle, means for moving the said segmental portionsradially of the spindle to expand the said shell, and expansible runnerssecured on the end portions of the said spindle.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK HORSELL.

Witnesses:

LEONARD H. GROSSLEY, FRED HUNT, J unr.

